Z Squared
by MrQuinn
Summary: While investigating an anomaly, there is an accident that changes Elizabeth Delgato's life forever. Meanwhile, Sky must find a new green ranger. COMPLETE
1. Something missing

_**Disclaimer:** Powers Ranger Space Patrol Delta and all related logos are property of Disney Entertainment, I am using them without permission. Any original characters you see are mine, and I obviously have permission to use them. _

_**A/N:** This takes place only days after "Endings part 2"_

**

* * *

New Tech City, California 2025 AD

* * *

**

Elizabeth Delgado couldn't put her finger on it, but headquarters seemed a little bigger to her know. It had been her home for over a year now, and she knew every square inch of the base, but now, it all felt a little overwhelming. There were beeps that she hadn't heard before, things seemed out of place… maybe she was the one who was out of place. The sights, the sounds, all of it was familiar to her, yet somehow things had changed.

As she walked down the hall on the way to the command center, it came to her. The base wasn't different, she was different, it was the fact that _he_ was gone. She and Jack started in SPD together, worked side by side for over a year. Even before SPD, the two of them did everything together. He was her best friend; her brother, and now the one person who was there for her when no one else was wasn't there anymore. Sure, she and the others had gone to visit him, see how he was readjusting to civilian life, but not having him by her side during training was a little disconcerting for her.

The doors to the command center slid open as she walked in, only to find that the other rangers were already there. Though it suited him, it was strange to see Sky wearing red. She'd come to think of red as Jack's color, but when Jack moving on, it was only natural that he assume the command of the team. On the other hand, blue seemed to suit Bridge just fine. She headed over to the group, standing alongside Sydney.

In front of them was Commander Doggie Cruger, who, as usual, had a concerned look on his face. "Rangers, there are pressing issues that demand your immediate attention. There is an unusual build up of energy in sector seventeen, and it's interfering with our censors here."

"We've encountered readings like this before. It seems to be an ionic-flux within the space/time continuum and its wreaking havoc on the quantum enhancers. If this keeps up, we'll fry it," Kat mentioned.

"Again?" Z asked.

"The anomaly seems to continue to faze in and out of continuum, but from what we can tell, it's getting bigger," she informed them.

"We are unable to get an accurate reading on the build up. Officer Tate, select a member of your team to investigate this anomaly," Cruger instructed.

Z snickered to herself. _'Officer.' _Now that there was no A-Squad, and she and the others were the only active rangers in SPD, they were no longer cadets. They were full-fledged officers now, though the only thing that changed was the title. The cadets still saluted them as superior officers, and they still answered directly to Cruger. From the moment the commander said _Officer_ Tate had to select someone to investigate, she knew he'd pick her to do it. She was, after all, the best tracker on the team, and was beat suited for this type of assignment.

"Actually sir, I was thinking that both Z and Syd should go. We don't know what this anomaly is, and it may be more than only one of us can handle," Sky announced.

The commander nodded. "A wise precaution," he turned to Syd and Z. "Officers Delgado and Drew, report to sector seventeen to investigate."

"Yes sir," the girls said in unison, saluting the commander, then making their way out the room.

"In light of Officer Tate's recent promotion to red ranger, and Officer Carson's promotion to blue ranger, your team has been left without a green ranger. Do either of you have any suggestions on who should be elevated to B Squad and given the green morpher?" he asked.

"I've been working with squads C and D, and none of them seem ready to move up. Maybe we should consider recruiting from outside our existing squads," Bridge mentioned.

"Do you have someone in mind?"

"Sophie was a great fighter, and I think…"

"I agree, but Sophie is still on assignment in deep space and will not be back for another four months. I'm afraid we can't wait that long. Gruum is gone, but there are still other criminals loose in the city, and your team is not operating at 100 without a green ranger. Officer Tate, do you have any suggestions?"

"Not at the moment sir."

Commander Cruger reached in his pocket, pulling out the green morpher and presented it to Sky. "You are the B Squad commanding officer, you have earned the trust and respect of your entire team, so the decision to find the new green ranger is yours. Inform me of your decision in 48 hours," he said.

"Yes sir!" Sky said, saluting the commander before he and Bridge walked out the room.

* * *

Z and Syd walked slowly through the downtown New Tech city area, using a tracking device to locate the anomaly. There were civilians everywhere; most of them just shopping, or eating at the local restaurant. Still, Z was concerned that if there was a problem, civilians may get in the process. On the same hand, starting a full spread panic by attempting to evacuate the area could do more harm than good. 

"Do you think I'd look good in green?" Syd asked, breaking her train of thought.

"What?"

"I was thinking about asking Cruger to be promoted to the green ranger. Green is out this season, but you never know, it could be the perfect compliment…" she was interrupted.

"We're suppose to be looking for this anomaly," Z reminded her.

"And we are, but I don't see why we can't discuss how I'd look in green, and maybe as a brunette, too. I think that Sky might…" she paused, allowing her sentence to trail off, realizing she'd said too much.

Her statement was enough to catch Z's attention. "You're interested in Sky?"

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to," she stopped, turning to Syd. "If you like him, just tell him."

She paused. "Yeah right, you know how he is. He's all about duty, he doesn't even notice me."

"If you just talked to him, I bet…" she stopped as her tracking device began to beep, indicating they were getting close. "We're close, real close," she announced.

The two of them looked around, but there was nothing.

"Maybe it's a glitch, I don't see…"

Before she could finish her sentence, a ball of energy began to form in front of them. Z, seeing it first, rushed towards Syd, knocking her out the way. The two of them fell to the ground, and then watched as the ball began to get bigger.

"It has an electromagnetic charge to it, and if it keeps growing like this, it'll envelop the entire city in a matter of hours," Z told her.

"What do we do about it?"

Z glanced around. "I don't know, but we need to get any civilians out of the area. We don't know what this thing will do if…" her statement was interrupted as the ball of light appeared again, this time inches away from her.

"We're going to need some help," Syd said, reaching for her communicator.

"By the time the others get here, it'll be too late. We have to do something now," she paused as her eyes began to glow, and within seconds, she replicated. Now there were two of her. "I'll handle the anomaly, you just get everyone to safety."

Syd nodded, rushing off to get everyone out of harm's way. Z glanced over at her replicant, both of them determined to track down the anomaly. The device began to beep, indicating that the anomaly was close. It reappeared behind her, and the replicant saw it first, rushing towards Z to knock her out the way… but she was too late. The anomaly hit both of them of, and there was a flash of light.

Syd, realizing something was wrong, rushing over to Z. "Oh no. Oh my God, Z!"


	2. A fist full of Zs

_**Disclaimer:** Powers Ranger Space Patrol Delta and all related logos are property of Disney Entertainment; I am using them without permission. Any original characters you see are mine, and I obviously have permission to use them. _

_**A/N:** This takes place only days after "Endings part 2"_

**

* * *

_New Tech City, California 2025 AD_

* * *

**

Z opened her eyes slowly, but her vision was blurry and there was a throbbing pain in her head. She tried to sit up, but lost control of her motor functions, collapsing back onto the bed. She tried to get a look around, attempting to figure out where she was. As best she could tell, it was the infirmary in SPD headquarters, but there was no way to be sure. There were wires connected to her chest, and as far as she could tell, to her arms as well. She tried to recall the events leading up to her arriving there, but her mind was drawing a blank.

'_There was a light. And I saw someone…'_ she thought, but as quickly as the memory came to her, it was gone again. In fact, the harder she tried to remember anything, the less she could recall.

Just then, she felt a hand on her shoulder, followed by the soft tone of a familiar voice. "Delgado, can you hear me? Elizabeth? Z?" It was Kat Manx, resident genius. Z tried to respond, but couldn't muster up the strength for her mouth to move. Still, Kat noticed she was struggling. "Just relax, you've been through enough. You need to get some rest."

There was no use arguing the point, considering that she couldn't even gather the energy to say anything. With that in mind, Z simply closed her eyes, allowing herself to drift off to sleep.

* * *

She sat up all at once in a cold sweat, the sheets clinging to her. She was up for fast that she fell off the examining table, but she was able to land on her feet and regain her composure, getting a look at her surroundings. _'SPD infirmary,'_ she thought to herself, recognizing the place. She quickly snatched the wires connected to her, walking around the room, trying to shake off the disorientation. 

"The anomaly!" she said out loud, recalling the details leading up to that moment. "Oh my God, Syd."

"Sydney is fine, its _you_ we're worried about," a voice said.

She turned around as Kat walked into the room with a clipboard in hand and a confused look on her face.

"Kat, what's going on? What happened to me?"

"The anomaly you encountered fundamentally altered your DNA on a quantum cellular level. Because of your genetic mutations, there was an unforeseen effect," she told her.

"Okay Kat, this time in English," she requested.

Kat simply stepped aside, allowing her to get a good look at what was behind her.

She glanced down, amazed at what she saw.

"Oh my God, its me," she sighed. She glanced down, getting a closer look. Every detail, every aspect, every nuance was completely the same. It was almost like looking into a mirror. Her eyes lit up slightly, attempting to recombine with the replicant, but no luck. "Kat, what's going on?"

"The anomaly combined your genetic mutations with your ranger energy and fused them on a multi-phasic level."

"But it's just a replicant, right?"

"It may have started that way, but I've ran every test I know how. In every way, its you," Kat told her.

"Its not possible. I'm me…" she paused. "Wait, am I me, or am _I _the replicant?" she asked, fearful of the answer Kat was going to give her.

"Again, everything was replicated when you came in contact with the anomaly. Both of you, in essence, are you."

"But which is us is the original?"

"There is no way to be sure, at least not yet."

She sat down on the edge of the examining table, attempting to come to terms with what was happening. In most cases, her replicants, while they looked exactly like her, had no real consciousness of their own. They were able to fight, to anticipate and react, but only for a limited time. They didn't speak, and she always assumed that they simply couldn't, but now…

"So what happens now?"

"I've alerted Commander Cruger to the situation. When Z… the _other_ Z wakes up, we'll try to determine what happens next," Kat told her.

Just then, the doors to the infirmary slid open as Syd walked in with flowers in hand. "Good, you're awake. I just came by to check on you and make sure…" she paused as she noticed another Z laying on an examining table a few feet away. She dropped the flowers, and the vase they were in shattered. "What the… who is… I mean, what is…"

"There are two of me… us," Z sighed.

"But how?"

"You want Kat to give you all the techno babble, or do you wanna just deal with the fact that there are two?" Z asked.

Before she could respond, Z… the other Z, sat up in a cold sweat, nearly falling off the examining table. She glanced around the room, amazed as what she saw. "Oh my God, its me," she quickly turned to Kat. "Kat, what's going on?"

"The anomaly combined your genetic mutations with your ranger energy and fused them on a multi-phasic level," she repeated.

"But it's just a replicant, right?" she asked.

The other Z took a step forward. "I was just about to ask you the same thing."

Now, the two of them were face to face, staring at one another.

"You're the replicant," they said in unison, then paused.

"No, _you _are!" they said again, completely in sync.

"That's not possible. I'm the real me," they both said.

"This is getting us nowhere," Kat walked over to them, stepping in-between them. "Like I said, both of you are you, as far as I can tell. I have no way of knowing which of you is the original, and which of you was the replicant. The two of you share the same DNA, the same genetic structure, the same memories, everything. You are you, both of you."

"But," Syd chimed in, taking a step forward. "Wouldn't the real Z be the one who could replicate again?"

"Good idea," Z's eyes lit up as she attempted to replicate, but nothing happened.

"I knew it, I'm the _real_ me," the other said.

"Can you replicate?" Kat asked her.

"Of course," her eyes lit up as she tried to replicate as well, but with no luck.

"Well, that didn't really work out," Syd sighed.

"What about our morphers? Even if this energy anomaly thing did bond with my DNA, it couldn't have duplicated my morpher. Whichever one of us has the active morphing is the real me," Z said.

"Good idea, let me see your morphers," both of them removed their morphers from their hip, handing it to Kat. Kat took a moment to examine them. "Whatever happened when you encountered that anomaly fused your morphers, neither one of them are active. My best guess is that the anomaly's power was amplified by your morpher energy, allowing it to do … whatever it did to you. They're both useless."

"So we're no closer to knowing which one of us are real," Z sighed.

The doors to the infirmary slid open as Bridge walked into the room with a cheerful look on his face. "Hey Z, I wanted to see if…" he looked over at Z, then at the other Z, then at Kat, who had a confused look on her face. "Well, this is interesting. What happened?"

"The anomaly combined my genetic mutations with my ranger energy and fused them on a multi-phasic level," both the Zs said in unison, each with a tone of frustration in their voice.

"That was going to be my first guess. So, how are we…"

"We don't know how we're going to fix it yet, I'm going to get to work on it as soon as possible," Kat said.

"I was just going to ask how we were going to tell them apart? Maybe one of them could wear a bell or something," he said.

"Bridge!" they both groaned, then looked at one another.

"The best thing for us to do right now is to determine how this happened, then try to reverse it. Z… both of you, you should remain here while I run my tests. Syd, Bridge, I'm sure the commander could use your help in the command center trying to track down this anomaly. Inform the commander that I'll report to him as soon as I have any significant information to pass along," Kat said.

"Yes ma'am," the two of them said, saluting Kat before they walked out the room.

Z turned to her counterpart. "So, wanna play cards?"


	3. Go fish

_**Disclaimer:** Powers Ranger Space Patrol Delta and all related logos are property of Disney Entertainment; I am using them without permission. Any original characters you see are mine, and I obviously have permission to use them. _

_**A/N:** This takes place only days after "Endings part 2"_

**

* * *

New Tech City, California 2025 AD

* * *

**

"And you're saying there is no way to tell them apart?" Commander Cruger asked with a look of concern on his face.

"No sir, not at the moment. Kat is working on it, but this one even has her confused," Syd mentioned.

"I will contact the SPD genetics department in the Kalib sector, perhaps they can come up with a solution for our problem, or at least point us in the right direction," the two of them turned back to the monitor in the command center. "In the last hour, the anomaly has grown over seventy meters in diameter, and at this rate will continue to grow until it can engulf the entire city. I suspect that coming into contact with Z's morpher somehow gave it additional power."

"You mentioned that you'd seen something like this before. When?" she inquired.

"It was years ago, during the initial formation of SPD. At the time, Merlock was a respected scientist, and he was working on dimensional gateways of some kind, but it proved to be unstable. During one of his preliminary experiments, something went wrong and an anomaly like this one was created," he said.

"How did you stop it?"

"We didn't. It collapsed in on itself, but only after coming into contact with a huge energy source. It cost us the life of one of our finest officers, and I will take every step necessary to ensure that it doesn't happen again."

"Your finest officer? Who was…" she paused slightly as all the facts seemed to come together in his mind. _'Merlock… SPD's finest officer… cost him his life… oh God, Sky's father,'_ she sighed inwardly.

"Until we know more about what this thing is and how we can stop it, mentioning this information to officer Tate would be unwise. Are we clear on that?" he asked her.

"Yes sir, of course sir," she hesitated. " Sir, I'll have Boom investigate the anomaly further, maybe get Bridge to work with him. The two of them are goofballs, but they're smart, and they can figure this thing out. In the meantime, I'll go back out there and see if I can track this thing; I may not be able to stop it, but I can do my best to make sure that no civilians are hurt by this thing," she suggested.

The Commander turned slightly. "A wise plan, but not the one we'll implement. It is unsafe for anyone to track this anomaly, especially someone with a morpher. We saw what it did to Officer Delgato, and there's no telling what it might do to you."

"With all due respect sir, who else is there? If this thing comes into contact with a civilian, it could destroy them on contact. I am aware of the risks, and I'm willing to take it if it'll save lives," Syd told him.

"You show excellent initiative and drive, and your determination is admirable Syd, but the risk is too great. I cannot allow it. Until we know more about the anomaly and how to neutralize it, none of my rangers are to go near it. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir," she sighed, saluting him, then making her way out the room.

* * *

Elizabeth Delgato had gotten use to people calling her a freak. As a child, the other children in school ridiculed her because of her genetic powers. Her powers made her different, and even in an enlightened day and age where humans and aliens were able to live in peace, children were intolerant of things that were different. She suspected they were afraid of her because of what she could do, and though as time went on and she discovered there were others who had genetic powers as well, she still felt alone in the universe. 

Jack could pass through solid objects, Bridge could read oras, Syd could manipulate objects simply by touching them, Sky had the ability to shield himself from danger, but all those powers aside, hers was the most unique. The ability to recreate herself; more than a clone, but less than human. Her ability set her apart from the others. Though everyone at SPD had come to accept her, and even she had come to accept that she wasn't like everyone else, there was still something about her power that set her apart from the others.

There she was, stuck in an infirmary playing cards with, for all intent and purposes, herself. The accident left her with a replicant that she couldn't get rid of, or she, quite possibly, could have been the replicant. There was really no way to be sure. It was odd glancing up at herself from time to time, recognizing the look on her face, almost able to anticipate her thoughts. The accident was an unfortunate one, but it gave her something she thought she would never have; someone just like her. Here was another one of her, another Elizabeth Delgato, someone who understood how she felt because she'd felt the exact same things. They shared thoughts, memories, experiences, and that made them closer than any sister she could have ever had.

Part of her was ready to put it all behind her, but there was another part of her that was glad it happened. With Jack gone, there was a void in her life, and having _herself_ around to keep her company was exactly what she needed.

"Do you have any threes?"

"No, go fish."

Her counterpart reached into the pile of cards in front of her, sticking it nicely into her hand. "So, what do you make of all this?" she asked.

"Of what?"

"You know, _this. _Us, our situation."

Z glanced around, making sure no one else was around. "I kinda like it."

Her counterpart nodded. "Yes, me too. It's nice to have someone around who understands me, ya know?"

"Exactly!" they said in unison.

"But what happens with Kat figures out what's going on and can fix it? One of us will be gone."

"But which one?"

"I don't know, I think I'm real."

"So do I."

"We both are… in a way, I guess," she sighed.

"In the meantime, we need to do something; something so people can tell us apart."

"What did you have in mind?"

"I don't know. But everytime someone calls our name, we'll both turn around. We need something…"

"I always liked the name Liz," she said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, mom use to call me Liz when I… _we_ were a kid."

She paused. "I'd forgotten about that," she sighed. "Okay, Liz it is."

"Oh God, do you think we should call mom and tell her what's going on?" Liz asked.

"Not yet, not until we know more. It would just freak her out if we tell her now."

"I guess you're right," she paused. "So, you got any fives?"

She shook her head. "No, go fish!"

* * *

Sky sat in his quarters, staring at the picture of his father that sat on the nightstand next to his bed. He was only a child when he took that picture, maybe seven or eight, but he remembered it all as if it were yesterday. His father was called away on a mission like he usually was, and Sky stayed home with his mother. His father coming home late was never a surprise. There were times when he'd fall asleep by the door waiting for his father to come home, or times when he woke up in the morning with his father next to him in bed. Long hours were part of the job, but this day was different. 

He remembered being on the couch waiting for his father like he normally did, and someone knocked on the door. His mother answered it, and commander Cruger walked in, talking to her about something. Sky wasn't sure what was said exactly, but it was enough to upset his mother. She was devastated, and she quickly put him to bed, telling her they had to get up early in the morning. He asked where his father was, but she never answered.

The next day they went to SPD headquarters, where he was presented with his father's helmet. It was badly damaged, as if he'd been in a horrible battle. His mother did her best to explain to him that his father lost in battle, that he wouldn't be coming home.

It didn't really hit him until SPD held a funeral for his father. The reality that his father was never coming home fell on him like a ton of bricks. It was at that moment that he realized that he wanted to join SPD. In the back of his mind, Sky never accepted that his father was dead. There was no body, no evidence to support that his father was killed, only a helmet that was damaged and rumors of an alien attack.

It wasn't until years later that he discovered it was Merlock who was responsible for what happened to his father. Merlock had the ability to track people in alternate dimensions using the mirrors he'd constructed. In stood to reason that, somehow, Sky's father had been trapped in one of these dimensions. If that were the case, there was a chance he was still out there… somewhere.

The anomaly they were tracking had the same characteristics as the dimension portals Merlock used to trap he and the other rangers inside. If it was in fact the same thing, it could serve as a gateway between reality and an alternate dimension.

The thought was enough to make Sky stand up, rushing out his quarters and down the hall on his way to Boom's lab. When he arrived, Boom and Bridge were standing in front of a monitor, going over readings.

"Sky," Bridge looked at him. "We were just about to call for you. Did I and I just forgot I did? Or did you…" he was interrupted.

"What is it Bridge?"

"Boom and I have been working on the anomaly for a while now, and we can tell you that it isn't a natural occurrence; its man made," he said.

"That means if someone made it, we can destroy it."

"I've been looking into that, and I think we have a way to do it," Boom walked over to the opposite table, picking up two devices. "It sends out electrical impulse waves, allowing them to disperse energy on a…"

"You don't have to explain _how_ it works, just tell me how to use it," Sky said.

"If we tune it to the right frequency, we should be able to use this to dissipate the anomaly. But there's a catch."

"There always is."

"It has to be the exact frequency. Even the slightest misalignment could force it to grow even faster," he paused. "And for it to work, it has to be done on both sides of the anomaly," he said.

"What do you mean both sides?"

"It's a gateway, a wormhole from our reality to another. Someone will have to go to the other side of the anomaly and use the device at the exact frequency to close it on both sides," Bridge said.

"And the other person will be…"

"Trapped there forever," Boom sighed.


	4. Two halves of a whole

_**Disclaimer:** Powers Ranger Space Patrol Delta and all related logos are property of Disney Entertainment; I am using them without permission. Any original characters you see are mine, and I obviously have permission to use them. _

_**A/N:** This takes place only days after "Endings part 2"_

**

* * *

New Tech City, California 2025 AD

* * *

**

"In the last hour alone, the anomaly has grown almost fifteen times its original sound. At this rate, its only a matter of hours before it engulfs the entire city, and from there, the planet," Kat announced, going over her readings in the command center.

"Wait, you said it was manmade, right? Can you tell us where it originated from?" Syd asked.

Kat quickly turned to another panel, glancing at her readouts. "The radiation the anomaly is giving off is interfering with the censors, but the signal originally started in the industrial district. I can give you a location within a 6 block radius," she said.

Just then, the doors the command center opened as Bridge and Sky walked in, standing in front of Commander Cruger and saluting.

"Yes, we think we have a way to collapse the anomaly," Sky said. "Boom has a device that will allow us to collapse it, but it requires one of us to go inside the anomaly itself."

"Inside the anomaly?" the commander inquired.

"We think the anomaly isn't an anomaly at all, but a gateway to a different dimension. The problem is, its unstable, so while the gateway is here, it may lead to any number of dimensions, maybe even points in time. We're not really sure, but we do know we can collapse it if we adjust our equipment to the right frequency on both ends," Bridge said.

"No."

"But sir, we…"

"No. I will not sacrifice any of my officers to stop this anomaly. Bridge, I want you and Officer Delgato to go the industrial district and see if you can find the source of the anomaly. Perhaps you can shut it down from there," the commander said.

"Wait…which one?" Bridge asked.

"Both of them. We don't have time to determine which of them is the original, so take them both."

"I don't recommend that. We still don't know what happened to Z. Exposing her around equipment that generate that type of radiation could do even more damage. Besides, shutting down the cause of the anomaly isn't going to work," Kat walked over to them. "At this point the anomaly is much too big. Even if you shut it down from the source, its self sustaining now and needs to be collapsed from inside the anomaly itself."

"Even so, whoever created the anomaly may be able to find an alternate way to shut it down. Sky, you and Syd take Boom's device and attempt to collapse the anomaly, but by no means do you come in contact with it. Keep your distance. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir!" they said in unison.

"You all have your orders. Dismissed!"

* * *

The doors to the infirmary slid open, and Bridge walked in.

"Good afternoon ladies…" he paused, glancing around the room, only to discover that one of the Zs' was nowhere to be found. "Wait, what happened to the other you?" he inquired. "She didn't disappear or anything, did she?"

Z giggled. "No, she's in the bathroom. What's up?"

"The Commander wants us to check out the industrial district. Whoever started the anomaly did it in that area, so we're going to try to track them down and see if we can stop it," he said.

"You mean _both_ of us?"

"Yeah. Why, are you not feeling up to it? I could do tell…"

"No, it's not that at all. I'm glad to finally be getting out of this infirmary anyway," she said as she hopped off the examining table and walked over to Bridge, zipping up her jacket. "I think a little action is just what I need."

Just then, the bathroom door opened as _she_ walked into the room. She was, in every way, Z's double, except for one minor difference.

"You're a blonde?" Z asked.

"After my conversation with Syd the other day, I got to thinking about changing my hair, too. What do you think?" she asked, twirling slightly so they could get a good look.

"You look good as a blonde," he paused. "Not that there was anything wrong with your hair the way is was… _is_," Bridge sighed.

"Thanks. I figure we might be stuck in this situation for a while, so we might as well find some way of telling each other apart," she commented.

"Ya know," Bridge removed his glove. "I could always read your auras and find out which of you is the real deal," he offered.

"You could do that?" they asked in unison.

He nodded. "Sure," he waved his hand in front of them, and there was a green wave that surrounded them. It was transparent, yet slightly tinted. Bridge stared at the two of them. "Hm," he said.

"Hm? What does that mean?" Liz asked.

"It means that you're both you, but that shouldn't be possible. Everyone in the universe as his or her own aura; its unique, but you two share the exact same aura. That isn't natural; your DNA is unstable. You're two halves of a whole, and your condition isn't going to last long," he said.

"What do you mean _last_?"

"I mean the two of you are meant to be one, and the longer you stay apart, the more at risk you are. I'm not a scientist, but unless we find a way to put the two of you back together, I don't think either one of you will survive very long," he sighed.

* * *

Syd walked in slience, staring down at the tracking device hoping to pinpoint the location of the anomaly. The last time she attempted to track it, there was an accident and Z was, for lack of a better term, cloned. The commander's warnings about coming in contact with the anomaly concerned her. She still had her morpher, and if the anomaly was able to feed off of that energy, there was no telling what could happen to her. Still, she knew it was important to track it down and put an end to it once and for all.

The area was, for the most part, clear. SPD had taken the liberty of sending teams out to evacuate the area of all civilians just in case something went wrong, leaving Syd and Sky alone to do their jobs.

"You're quiet today," Sky said, breaking the silence between them.

"Just occupied with work," she grunted, not realizing how rude she sounded, and not once taking her eyes off the tracking device.

"Isn't that _my_ job?"

"What?"

"I mean I'm the one who always get caught up in my work, and you're the carefree one," he mentioned.

"Not today. We have to stop this thing before it gets any further out of hand," she said, again, never bothering to look up.

"I always liked that about you."

His statement was enough to make her pause, but not look up. "What?"

"That you were such a free spirit. I was always so occupied with duty, becoming the red ranger, following in my father's footsteps. Now that I'm here, that I've done it, I thought it would be nice to loosen up a little," he told her.

She cracked a smile. "That would be nice."

"Maybe when this is all over the two of us could…"

Before he could finish his statement, her tracking device began to beep. The anomaly appeared from out of nowhere, and only a few feet away from Sky. He jumped back avoiding it, quickly using his powers to put a shield between them.

"Its still unstable; no telling how long it'll stay in one spot, but it looks like its getting bigger," Syd said.

The anomaly itself was no longer a small sphere, but more like a swirling vortex of some kind, a wormhole. It had a blue-ish tint to it, and sparks of electrical impulses seemed to flow through it. It made a slight humming sound, and was visibly getting bigger. Syd stood behind Sky, trying to get an accurate reading.

"It isn't moving at all."

"No, but its growing. We have to stop this thing," she said.

"Our orders are to collapse it, but we can't do that without someone going through to the other side," he mentioned.

"The commander ordered us not to, we can't…"

Sky lowered his shield, standing face to face with the anomaly. "I think it's my father," Sky said.

"You what?"

"I think Merlock trapped my father in a temporal rift just like this one, and now, my father is trying to open it and find a way back," he told her.

"Sky, that was years ago, I don't think that…"

"I have to try Syd. I have to know."

"The commander said an anomaly just liked this one destroyed your father. Going in there won't bring him back."

"No one knows for sure what happened that day, that's why I have to go."

"We're not even sure if it is a wormhole. And even if it is, it may not lead to your father. You could up anywhere, or anytime. Sky, you don't have to do this. There are other ways to…"

"No there isn't, at least not for me," he sighed. "This is something I've known I'd have to do for years. If there's a chance my father is on the other side of this wormhole, I have to try."

"But you could be…"

"I've got the device that Boom gave me. If you haven't heard from me in five minutes, activate yours and aim it at the anomaly. I'll turn mine on, and that should be enough to collapse it," Sky said.

"But you'll be trapped there, I won't…"

"That's an order Syd."

"But I can't..."

"Thats an _order_ Syd," he repeated.

"Yes sir."

He turned around, grabbing her hand slightly. "If I make it back… _when_ I make it back, we'll go on that date I've been mustering up the courage to ask you on, okay?" he asked her.

It was what she'd waited to hear for as long as she could remember, but the circumstances made it difficult for her to enjoy it. A single tear rolled down her face. "It's a date," she sighed.

Sky nodded slightly, then turned to the anomaly, stepping inside. Syd watched on as Sky simply disappeared into the anomaly, and then, just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone.


	5. Acceptable loses

_**Disclaimer:** Powers Ranger Space Patrol Delta and all related logos are property of Disney Entertainment; I am using them without permission. Any original characters you see are mine, and I obviously have permission to use them. _

_**A/N:** This takes place only days after "Endings part 2"_

**

* * *

New Tech City, California 2025 AD

* * *

**

"Commander, I've just lost the signal on Officer Tate," Kat informed him, turning around with a concerned look on her face.

The Commander rushed over the controls to get a look for himself. "This anomaly is interfering with our censors, could this be a malfunction of some kind?" he inquired.

"No, I've accounted for the interference. Officer Tate is just… gone," she sighed.

It was all too familiar to Commander Cruger. He remembered seeing the exact same situation happen years ago with Sky's father, but this time, he was determined that things would be different. He reached over, pressing a button on the control panel. "Officer Drew, report!"

"_Sky was sucked into the anomaly. It just came from out nowhere, there was nothing I could do," _she informed him.

"Hold your position, I will join you shortly, Cruger out."

* * *

Liz, Bridge and Z arrived at the industrial district, looking for any type of equipment, anything that could have initially formed the anomaly. The truth was, Liz' mind wasn't on the mission at all. The idea of having another version of herself around appealed to her. More then a sister, more than an identical twin, they were the exact same person. They shared the same thoughts and feelings, had the same opinions about everything. Having someone who understood you that well appealed to her, but having that person was ultimately going to cost both of them their lives.

Bridge's statement had been echoing through her mind since he said it. _'…the longer you stay apart, the more at risk you are. I'm not a scientist, but unless we find a way to put the two of you back together, I don't think either one of you will survive very long.' _

If that were true, then it was just a matter of time before both of them were gone. But, even if they were able to find a way to recombine somehow, it would mean that one of them would be gone forever. _'How do I decide which one of us deserves to live and which doesn't? Who am I to make that kind of choice?' _she wondered. There she was, not even ten feet away from her counterpart. With the exception of different colored hair, they were the same. Asking her to give her life would be, in essence, a form of suicide, but not asking her to would be as well.

"I think I found something over here," Bridge said, breaking her concentration.

"What is it Bridge?" they asked in unison, each of them cracking a smile at one another before following after Bridge.

Bridge led them into what appeared to be an abandoned building. The outside was raggedy and worn down, blending right with the rest of the area, but on the inside was a much different story. It was a laboratory of some kind, just as sophisticated as SPD headquarters, if not more. In the middle of the room was a long chalkboard, covered with calculations. Bridge walked over it, trying to make sense out of all of it.

"Looks like a complex mathematical formula for…" he paused, wanting to be positive before saying anything. "… inner-dimensional travel," he said.

"Is that even possible?"

"It makes sense; it explains the wormhole, but it looks like one of the calculations are off by a few thousand percent. A miscalculation like that would certainly cause the wormhole to grow out of control the way is has," he mentioned.

"Sure, now you tell me," a voice said. The three of them turned around as a young woman walked into the room, making her way over to the chalkboard. "I worked on these calculations for months but couldn't figure out the last part of this equation," she said.

"Who are you?"

"Its Dr. Rheas, the scientist," Liz commented.

"You're familiar with my work?"

"In a way, we have a mutual friend. Jack Landers."

"You mean the red ranger?"

"Actually, he's retired now," Z pointed out.

"What are you trying to do here? Do you know that wormhole you created is loose in the city?" Bridge asked her, getting back on track.

"Wormhole? I didn't activate anything yet; I've just been working on it here in my lab. I'm months away from an actual test run," Dr. Rheas responded.

"Our censors detected that the wormhole originated here, in this area," Liz mentioned.

"I haven't attempted anything yet. If anything, I had to shut the project down for a few weeks because of a power surge. Everything is offline until I'm able to…" she was cut short.

"Power surge?" Bridge asked.

"Yes, there was an unusual buildup of power about 36 hours ago. The readings were off the charts, and I had to shut everything down. The system will be offline until I determine what caused it," she said.

"I think that the power surge caused your equipment to open a wormhole prematurely," he said.

"If it did, there's no telling where it would lead to. It would have dangerously unstable," she added.

"Well, its happening right now, and we have to stop it. Is there anything here that would be able to shut it down?" Liz asked her.

"I did create a device that would lock on to the exact frequency of the wormhole and close it, but it has to be activated on both sides," she said.

"We have one similar to that, but we'd rather not send anyone into the wormhole to close it. Is there anything else we can do?"

"Not that I know of," she paused, looking at Z and Liz carefully. "Are you two twins? I could swear that…"

"No, I came in contact with the wormhole and _this_ happened to me… um, us," Z told her.

"It cloned you? For that to happen there would have to be a significant imbalance in your DNA, it shouldn't be possible," she said.

"My DNA isn't exactly normal. Is there anything you can do to recombine us?" Liz asked.

"Recombine you? What do you mean?"

"It's a long story, but right now we need to focus on getting that wormhole under control. There has to be something we can do collapse it without losing anyone in the process. Come on Bridge… think," he walked over to the far end of the room and balanced himself on his hands upside down. "What am I overlooking?"

"What is he doing?"

"He's thinking," Z told her.

"Upside down?"

"It works for him."

"Assuming that the wormhole actually leads somewhere, if we could contact someone on the other side and show them how to use the device, we could close it from the other side without losing any of our people. But now the question is, how to do communicate with them on the other side without actually going in?" Bridge asked.

"I think we have another problem," Dr. Rheas brought up.

"What is it?"

"If the surge did create a wormhole prematurely, based on these calculations I have, the wormhole is more than unstable, it will implode in on itself in a matter of hours," she said.

"Implode is a good thing, right? That means it'll just suck itself up," Z said.

"No," Bridge stood upright, walking over to the rest of them. "It will implode and suck everything in with it. Depending on the intensity of the implosion, it would take the entire city with it, or even the planet," he said.

* * *

Syd stood in front of the wormhole, simply watching it. She kept her distance, but was as close to it as she could possibly get. She kept hoping that Sky would step through and be all right, but there was no way of telling where the wormhole led, or if it was really a wormhole at all. _'Damn it Sky, why did you have to go in there?' _she grumbled in frustration. 

When Commander Cruger contacted her, she felt it best to lie to him. If he knew that Sky disobeyed a direct order and went into the wormhole, it could cost him his position as red ranger, or worse, get him released from SPD altogether. But, judging on the way the wormhole had been changing rapidly in size, color and intensity, she was certain that being kicked out of SPD was the least of Sky's problems.

"Officer Drew," a voice called out. She turned around as Commander Cruger walked over to her. "Report."

"There has been no change, sir. He's still in there," she said.

"How long has it been now?"

"About twenty minutes," Sky's order repeated in her mind. '_If you haven't heard from me in five minutes, activate yours and aim it at the anomaly. I'll turn mine on, and that should be enough to collapse it_,' but she couldn't bring herself to do it. "I keep wanting to do in after him, to save him, but…"

"You were wise not to follow in after him. Doing so would only put you in danger. There is still too much we don't understand about this anomaly, taking an unnecessary risk wouldn't be beneficial to any of us at this point," he told her.

"_Commander Cruger, come in," _a voice said.

The Commander Cruger reached for his communicator. "What is it Bridge?"

"_Dr. Rheas is responsible for the wormhole, but it wasn't her fault. There was a power surge that created it. Based on her readings, if we don't collapse it soon, it will implode and take a chunk of the planet with it,"_ he said.

He sighed. "Then we have to stop it now, before it gets out of hand. Meet us here so we can stop this thing once and for all."

"_Yes sir. Bridge out."_

"Sir, we're not just going to leave Sky in there, are we? We'll save him before we close it, right?" Syd asked.

"The situation is worse than we originally thought. This anomaly has to be closed now before anyone else gets hurt," he said.

"But Sky is in there sir, we have to help him!"

"I think the life of one person is an acceptable lose if it will save the entire planet. I…" he was interrupted.

"Well I don't. No ranger will stand by when another ranger is in trouble. That's what _you_ taught us, and I will not stand by and do nothing when Sky needs me," she protested.

"That is enough Officer Drew. We will do what must be done in order to protect this city, this planet. Those are my orders," he told her.

"No," Syd whispered.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

She knew that by disobeying his direct order, it could cost her the career she'd worked for her entire life, but she couldn't stand by knowing it could cost Sky his life. With a heavy heart, she took a deep breath. "No!" she said, this time in a firm voice.

"Are you disobeying an order from your superior officer?"

"If it will save my friend and fellow officer, yes. Yes, I am," she said, standing confidently behind her decision. "I will not leave him behind, and if need be, risk my life to save his, just like you did for Icinia," she told him.

Her statement was enough to sigh with frustration. "Very well. We will make every attempt to bring Officer Tate back, but if we exhaust our options, I will collapse the wormhole," Commander Cruger said.

"Thank you sir."


	6. The other side

_**Disclaimer:** Powers Ranger Space Patrol Delta and all related logos are property of Disney Entertainment; I am using them without permission. Any original characters you see are mine, and I obviously have permission to use them. _

_**A/N:** This takes place only days after "Endings part 2"_

* * *

**Location: unknown

* * *

**

Sky stepped through the other side of the wormhole, only to discover there wasn't much of a difference. He was in still in the industrial district, the buildings were all in the same place, and it was even the same time of day. He turned around getting a look at the wormhole itself, and the only difference he saw was that Syd was nowhere to be found. There was a feeling of nausea, as if he'd just gotten off a roller coaster, but it quickly passed.

As soon as he turned around, he saw himself face to face with the barrel of a disrupter riffle.

"Stop right where you are, you're under arrest!" a voice said.

Sky raised his hands slowly, hoping not to appear hostile. He was relieved to see that they were rangers, but his relief quick faded and was replaced with concerned when he realized it was…

"The A Squad? But how…"

"By order of Emperor Gruum, you're under arrest," the red ranger told him.

The green and yellow rangers pointed their weapons at him as the red ranger approached him, holding up a morpher. "Judgment time! Guilty!" she said.

"What? Guilty? Of what? You didn't accuse me of anything yet."

"Do you really think it matters?" she snapped.

"Hold it right there!" another voice said.

Before Sky could turn around to see where the voice was coming from, three rangers appeared, standing in-between Sky and the A-Squad. Sky watched on awkwardly as the red B-Squad rangers led his team against the A-Squad. The red ranger landed a spinning kick to the A-Squad leader, knocking the weapon out her hand. The blue ranger was right there, catching the weapon and blasting the A-Squad leader in the chest. It was enough to make her stumble back, and the remaining A-Squad rangers helped her up.

"I don't have time for this today. There will be another time B-Squad!" the red ranger said as the A-Squad hurried away.

"Yeah, and we'll just kick your asses again!" the green ranger commented.

Finally, the red ranger turned to Sky, staring him up and down. "Power down!" he called out. In a flash, the uniform vanished and was replaced by an SPD uniform, but it wasn't at all like the uniform Sky was use to. It was predominately white with black trim, and a red stripe down the left arm. Sky took a step back, getting a good look at him.

"Bridge?" he inquired.

"Um, yeah. Sky?" he replied.

"You're red ranger? So who is…" he turned his attention to the blue ranger, who powered down, revealing… "Jack?"

"What the hell is going on?"

"The anomaly is a wormhole. My guess is it's a gateway between… " he was interrupted as the green ranger who walked up to him, powering down.

Sky was in shock to see Syd with dark brown hair and in a green SPD uniform. "I can't believe its really you," she cried, wrapping her arms around him.

It was awkward for Sky, having Syd in his arms. Though it was her in every aspect, it wasn't really _his_ Syd. "Yeah, its me."

"I thought I'd lost you forever," she sighed.

Sky politely backed away slowly, unsure of how to react. "I'm not real clear on what's going on here, but…"

"I don't think this is _our_ Sky, Syd," Jack pointed out.

"What? How could it not be _our_ Sky?"

"If the anomaly isn't an anomaly at all, it could be a wormhole, a gateway between our reality and a different reality. In that reality, Sky is the red ranger," Bridge concluded.

Syd turned around, holding her head down in disappointment. "So that means this Sky isn't…"

"I'm sorry Syd, but I don't think so."

"I'm a little confused here, can someone explain to me what's going on?" Sky asked.

"Come on, we'll get back to SPD headquarters and the commander and try to figure out what to do," Jack suggested.

* * *

SPD headquarters, for the most part, looked exactly the same, but with some minor differences. The halls were much darker, and everyone had on completely different uniforms. As they walked down the corridors on their way to the command center, Sky couldn't help but notice a lack of SPD personnel on duty. Normally, there were a dozen or so officers scrambling back and forth between duty shifts, but the halls were almost all by deserted.

Finally, they came to the command center. The doors slid open, and the three officers stopped in behind of Dr. Kat Manx, who had their back to them as she worked at one of the stations.

"Sir, I think you should have a look at this," Bridge said.

"I just need to finish this alignment, how did the search go? Did you…" she turned around, getting a good look at Sky. Sky noticed that her hair was considerably longer than he remembered, and there was something about her eyes. She looked tired, as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders. "Sky? Oh my God, Sky," she said, rushing over to him and wrapping her arms around him.

"Its not our Sky," Syd sighed.

"What?"

"The anomaly is a wormhole. This Sky is from another reality," Jack told her.

Dr. Manx took a step back, regaining her composure. "I see," she straightened out her uniform. "Any thoughts on how to close this wormhole before anything else come through? The last thing we need is unwelcome guests," she turned to Sky. "No offense."

"None taken."

"Boom was working on it, but after what happened, I don't think his heart is into it," Syd said.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Sky asked with a puzzled look on his face. "And where is Commander Cruger?"

The three of them looked at one another, and then back at Dr. Manx, who had a monotone expression on her face. "Jack, why don't you and Bridge go check on Boom's progress? Officer Tate and I will fill in our guest on what's going on," she said.

"Yes sir," they said in unison as they saluted, then walked out the room.

Sky looked over at Syd. "Did she just call you Officer Tate? Am I missing something?" he asked.

Dr. Manx took a step forward, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"About six months ago, Sky… _our_ Sky lead the rangers into a battle against the A-Squad. The building they were fighting in collapsed, and several officers were killed. We never found Sky's body, but his helmet was found badly damaged. We continued to search for him, but there were no signs of him at all. It was as though he disappeared. We were all devastated by his disappearance, but Syd probably more so than the rest of us. Syd was…" she paused.

"… his wife," Syd sighed with a tear in her eye.

"Oh my God, I…" he stopped, knowing there was nothing he could say to comfort her.

"An anomaly like the one you came through was detected during that battle, so when we saw it again, we thought it was you trying to find a way back," Dr. Manx added.

"I came through the wormhole thinking it was my father trying to find his way back, but I guess I was wrong," he sighed.

"I'm sorry."

"So, in this reality I was married to Syd, and Bridge is red ranger?"

"Yes, he was promoted when you… disappeared. Jack was promoted to blue ranger, and Syd became the green ranger," she said.

"So where is Z and Commander Cruger?" he asked.

They both paused.

"Commander Cruger was killed in the battle with Omni a few weeks ago. Z was the first to encounter the anomaly you came through, and it had an adverse effect on her. She replicated, but there was no way to know which of them was which. Boom managed to find a way to stabilize their DNA so that both of them could exist, but they both died before we had a chance to use it," she sighed.

"The same thing happened in my reality, but we don't have a way to cure her yet," he said.

"Our priority has been to close the anomaly before it implodes. We predict that an implosion will take out half of the city, if not more," Dr. Manx said.

"I think we may be able to help each other," he pulled a small device out his pocket. "This is a device Boom made. Its suppose to emit a frequency that will close the wormhole, but it has to be done on both sides," he told them, handing the device to her.

Dr. Manx looked at it carefully. "I had a theory about a mechanism like this, but I hadn't worked out the calculations for it. This should do it, this can close the anomaly," she said.

"I'll leave this one here with you, then go back through the wormhole and use the second device to collapse it, but before I do, I need that anti-dote that your scientists created for Z. It may not be able to do anything for your Z, but it just may save mine," he said.

"Very well. I'll have the scientists prepare the anti-dote, and we'll meet at the anomaly in twenty minutes," she turned to Syd. "Take him to the science lab, then get back to the industrial district."

"Yes sir!"

* * *

The two of them walked down the corridor in silence, unsure of what to say to one another. Syd wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around him and tell him how much she missed but, but it wasn't _her_ Sky. For months she'd held on to the idea that he was alive somewhere out there, searching for a way to come back to him, and she was just about to give up hope until _this_ Sky came into her life.

"So…" he said, breaking the silence between them. "How long were we… I mean, you and Sky married?"

"We were married before we got promoted to B-Squad. I always thought that Bridge and Z would get married before we did, but…"

"Wait a sec… Bridge and Z were together?"

"Longer than Sky and I were. Those two were complete opposites, but they found a way to make it work. Our plan was to make A-Squad together Sky would be red ranger and we'd all serve together until Commander Cruger retired, then he'd take over command of SPD headquarters and Bridge would be red ranger, but…"

"In my reality, we captured the A-Squad and defeated Gruum. Didn't you guys do that here too?"

"No. When A-Squad returned, we were overwhelmed. Omni's body was completed, and his attack nearly crippled SPD. If it wasn't for Commander Cruger sacrificing himself to stop Omni, SPD would have fallen to Gruuum. "Gruum is still out there, and the A-Squad are his generals. They control most of the city, and central command thinks it's just a matter of time before SPD crumbles," she said.

"There has to be something we can do to stop this."

"There isn't, not really. Our equipment is outdated, and we're a ranger short. Even if Z wasn't gone, it would still almost impossible to stop Gruum at this point," she stopped, turning to him and grabbing his hand. "You could always stay here and help us fight. We could use an experienced ranger," she paused. "And it would be nice to have you back… kinda," she sighed.

"I have to get back to my own reality. My Syd is waiting for me," he said.

"Are we married in your reality too?"

"No, we're not even dating officially. But I've thought about what it would be like," he admitted.

"Your Syd is lucky to have you," she told him.

The two of them walked into the science lab, where Boom rushed over to them with a look of excitement on his face.

"Kat said you were back and I didn't believe it. Oh my gosh, its great to see you Sky," he said cheerfully.

"Um, Boom, I…"

"We never gave up hope on you Sky, never. Now that you're back, you can take your old job back as red ranger!"

"Boom, I'm not…"

"And I know your son will be glad to see you," he said.

Sky turned to Syd. "We have a son?"

"Yes," she admitted.

"What? Does Sky have amnesia or something?" he put his hand on Sky's shoulder. "I'm Boom, the gadget inspector for SPD, do… you… remember… me?" he asked him, talking very slowly.

"I don't have amnesia Boom."

"So why don't you remember Keith?"

"Boom, it's a long story, can you just give us the anti-dote you had for Z please?" Syd asked him.

Sky could hear the pain in her voice, and it disturbed him. He wondered if Syd, in his reality, had feelings for her that came close to what this Syd felt for her husband. And if so, how did he not notice for all this time?

"Sure, one sec," he said, rushing over.

"You have to excuse him, he's…"

"He's Boom," Sky said, smirking slightly.

"I wasn't going to tell you about Keith, I didn't want to freak you out," she said. "Besides, I didn't…"

"You don't have to explain it to me, I understand," he wrapped his arm around her. "I'm sorry things didn't work out for you and Sky the way you wanted them to, but if your Sky is anything like me, he'd tell you to stay strong and not give up. He'd want you to make sure his son never forgot the kind of man he was," he told her.

"I know," she said, trying to hold back her tears, but without success.

Boom hurried back over to them with two small flasks in hand, each of them filled with a brown-ish fluid. "I don't know much about auras or anything, but I do know that this would have stabilized both the Zs enough to allow them to live normal lives. Why do we need this?" Boom asked.

"We're going to help a friend of mine."


	7. Collapse

_**Disclaimer:** Powers Ranger Space Patrol Delta and all related logos are property of Disney Entertainment; I am using them without permission. Any original characters you see are mine, and I obviously have permission to use them. _

_**A/N:** This takes place only days after "Endings part 2"_

**

* * *

New Tech City, California 2025 AD

* * *

**

"How much longer Bridge?" Commander Cruger asked as he waited impatiently.

Bridge had been sitting on the ground in front a small pile of electronic parts, combining them with his morpher. There were wires and assorted parts they'd found in Dr. Rheas lab, and some were from inside his morpher itself. Not once did he take his eyes off his work, giving it his undivided attention; so much so that he didn't hear the Commander talking to him.

"This is going to take a little bit of time. He's trying to find a way to communicate with Sky on the other side of the wormhole," Liz pointed out.

"I don't understand why we can't just call him like we normally do. Our communicators have great range," Syd brought up.

"I suspect the radiation coming from the anomaly is interfering with communications," the Commander pointed out.

Dr. Rhea was standing directly in front of the wormhole with a device of her own, scanning it and going over the readings. The anomaly itself was now three times its original size; there were swirling blue-ish lightening coming from the anomaly, and it emitted a low humming sound. Paying it almost no attention, she stood in front of it, amazed at the readings she was getting.

"This is unbelievable," she said, not realizing it was out loud.

"What have you found doctor?" Commander Cruger asked.

"It is a wormhole, but not like any wormhole I've ever seen before. Putting aside for a moment that it's unstable, I believe this to be the first wormhole of its kind. It doesn't lead to the past or the future, but to a dimension similar to this one. Its almost as if it's a…"

"Parallel universe," Liz and Z said in unison.

"Exactly. There's no telling what's the same or what's different, but all my readings seem to point to the same thing; the wormhole leads us directly back here," she told them.

"So if it's safe, I'm going in there to find Sky and bring…" Syd was cut short as the Commander put his hand on her shoulder.

"Sending someone into the wormhole would be unwise. We have no way of knowing what's on the other side," he cautioned.

"She just said it's a parallel dimension, which means it's just like our dimension. I'm willing to take the risk if…"

"I appreciate your enthusiasm Syd, but no one is entering the wormhole until we know more."

"Yes sir," she grumbled to herself, folding her arms.

"I think I'm ready over here," Bridge said, standing up with the modified morpher in hand. "I've recalibrated the communication relay system to work in conjunction with the wavelengths that the wormhole operates on, then reconfigured the…" he was interrupted as the Commander walked over to him.

"Will it work?"

"Yes sir, I think so."

"Then proceed," he told him.

"Yes sir," Bridge switched on the device. "Sky, this is Bridge, come in," he paused. "Officer Tate, come in, its Officer Carson. Respond."

* * *

"There isn't much time before the anomaly implodes in on itself, so we have to hurry. Sky, when you make it through to the other side, we'll wait ten seconds, then activate the device to collapse the anomaly once and for all. Once you're there, we won't have any way to contact you to know you made it there successfully, and there's no real guarantee that going back through the wormhole will send you back to your reality. You could end up almost anywhere. Are you sure you want to do this?" Dr. Manx asked him. 

"This anomaly is danger to everyone. If it's open here in this reality, it could be open in other realities too. We have no way of knowing who or what could come through it, or worse, what will happen to those realities if it implodes. Even if I don't make it home, this anomaly has to be stopped," he answered.

"If you're not even sure you'll make it home, why don't you stay here with us…" she paused. "… with me?" Syd sighed.

Sky turned to her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "We both know I'm not the man you fell in love with, and I'm not Keith's father. We'd be living a lie, and you deserve better than that," he said.

"I know, but…"

"If your Sky is anything like me, he won't stop trying to come home to you," Sky told her.

"I miss him so much," she sighed, breaking down into tears.

_"Sky, this is Bridge, come in,"_ he paused._ "Officer Tate, come in, its Officer Carson. Respond."_

"Looks like your friends found a way to communicate with you," Dr. Manx said.

Sky reached for his communicator. "Bridge! I never thought I'd be so happy to hear your voice," he said.

_"According to our readings, the anomaly will implode in a matter of minutes. Are you able to come back through?"_

"Yes, I am. Are both the Zs' there with you?"

"_They're here, why?"_

"Just let them know I have a surprise for them. I'll be in a few minutes. As soon as I get there, be prepared to activate the device and collapse the wormhole," he instructed.

"_Will do! Bridge out!"

* * *

_

Emperor Gruum sat on the bridge of his ship with a devilish look in his eyes, listening in on the conversation. "Well," he stood up. "It seems that there is another reality, another SPD, another world for me to conquer," he groaned.

It was Charlie who took a step forward. "My lord, allow me to take the A-Squad and eliminate SPD once and for all. We'll crush the remaining rangers, then go through the wormhole and defeat the rangers there as well. You will rule both realities!" she told him.

He nodded with devious approval. "Yes, go. And if Doggie Cruger still exists in that reality, bring me his head as proof of his destruction," he ordered.

Charlie bowed in front of him. "As you wish Emperor."

* * *

"We're running out of time here Commander Cruger. I estimate that the wormhole will implode in less than five minutes. When it does it will take all of us and half the city with it," Dr. Rhea pointed out. 

The Commander glanced over at Syd, who still had a determined look on her face. "We will wait another five minutes. If he isn't back by then, I will personally go in after him. Once I do, wait another three minutes. If we haven't returned, collapse the anomaly," he instructed.

"It doesn't make sense for the Commander of SPD to risk his life by going in there. Let me go," Syd said.

"We've had this discussion and my order has been given. Stand down Officer Drew," he said firmly.

"Yes sir!"

* * *

"Well, I guess this is goodbye," Sky said, standing in front of the wormhole. 

"I guess it is," Syd sighed.

Bridge walked over to him, extending his hand to him. "It was great to meet you, kinda. I mean, I knew you, but not _you_ you, so its like I know you, but I don't," he said.

"I actually understood that," Sky chuckled.

"Good luck man," Jack said, extending his hand to Sky.

The two of them shook. "It was great to see you again Jack," he sighed.

"I hate to break up this touching moment… oh wait, no I don't," a voice said. They turned around only to find themselves surrounded by the A-Squad, each of them with a disrupter riffle in hand. "By order of Emperor Gruum, you, the wormhole and everything on both sides are now under the control of the Troobian Empire. This ends here and now B-Squad."

"Sky, just go, we'll handle this," Syd said.

"No, I'm not leaving until this is done," he took a step forward. "Lets do it guys!"

Bridge, Jack and Syd fell in line, standing behind Sky.

"You heard them, this ends here!" Jack added.

"SPD EMERGENCY!" each of them called out. There was a brilliant flash of light, and each of them transformed into rangers.

Charlie charged in after Sky, but he ducked, spun around and caught her with a sweep from behind. She fell hard, but quickly leaped back to her feet with a spin kick. Sky sidestepped her and did a backwards flip. His foot caught her under the skin as he flipped, forcing her to stumble back. Sky reached for his weapon, firing and connecting directly in the chest. Charlie fell to the ground, powering down instantly.

"You'll pay for that rookie!" she snarled.

The green and yellow A-Squad rangers were having their way with Syd and Jack, backing them up against one of the abandoned buildings. The green ranger rushed in with a sabat kick, but Jack ducked and the ranger's foot went through the wall, getting stuck. Jack gave him a sweep, knocking him completely off balance, leaving him upside down. The yellow ranger fired his weapon, but Syd rolled out the way, ran towards him with caught him with a kick to the chin, knocking him backwards. It was Bridge who did a flip in mid air, grabbing the yellow rangers weapon before it hit the ground, firing and hitting the green ranger in the chest.

"That's enough rangers!" a voice said. They all stopped as they realized that the blue A-Squad ranger had Dr. Manx, holding a riffle to her head. "Another move and the good doctor will be a pile of ash!"

One by one, each of the rangers dropped their weapons. "Just let her go!" Jack ordered.

"You're pathetic, you know that? You goody goodies playing the rules will always fall to evil. Now, drop your morphers and kick them over to me right now!" Charlie instructed.

Before they did, it was Shadow Ranger who emerged from the wormhole.

"Commander!" Sky called out.

Shadow Ranger nodded, calling for his Shadow Saber and throwing it at the blue A-Squad ranger. Dr. Manx ducked, and the saber was enough to knock the riffle out his hand. Before he could react, Shadow Ranger caught him with a kick to the side of the head. Charlie and the green ranger rushed up from behind, but Shadow fell to his knees, ramming his elbows back, catching both of them in the stomach, and then flipped them over. The green ranger stumbled back, falling through the wormhole.

* * *

"I don't like this at all," Syd groaned, pacing back and forth as she waited for Bridge to finish his modifications. 

"He'll be finished as soon as he can. I bet we're…" before Liz could finish her sentence, the green A-Squad ranger came tumbling through the wormhole. He made it to his feet, glancing around slightly.

Before Z, Liz or Syd could make a move, the green ranger grabbed Dr. Rhea, putting a phaser pistol to her head. "Somebody better tell me what the hell is going on!" he snapped.

"Let her go!" Z insisted.

"Or what? I'll blow a whole through this bitches head before you can make it over here to stop me, I…" he was cut short as Dr. Rhea rammed an elbow in his stomach, forcing him to double over. She spun around quickly with a kick, knocking the pistol out his hand, then grabbed his arm, flipping over onto the ground. The green ranger tried to move, but found himself staring at the barrel of the pistol as Dr. Rhea stood over him.

"You were saying?" she asked him.

"Nice moves!" Liz and Z said in unison.

"What? I can't be smart, pretty and a bad ass?" she smirked.

"You won't get away with this! Emperor Gruum will rule this dimension and every other. SPD will fall, and the universe will tremble…" before he could finish his statement, Z kicked him in the side of the head, knocking him out cold.

"Geez, I thought that guy would never shut up!"

* * *

Charlie tried to move, but Shadow Ranger pointed a disrupter at her face. 

"Its over," he insisted.

"That's what you think?" she laughed. "The wormhole is about to collapse, so you and your friend better hurry before you're stuck here. Once you're gone, these pathetic rangers won't stand a chance against us. We'll dominate the world, and when we're done, come after yours," she told him.

"Commander, we have to go NOW," Sky told him.

"We shall see," the Commander said, firing the riffle, missing Charlie's head by an inch. He then dropped the riffle, stepping through the wormhole.

"You guys know what to do! But wait a minute," he said

"Wait? Why?" Dr. Manx asked.

"I have an idea," Sky said, stepping through as well.

* * *

Shadow Ranger and Sky reappeared on the other side of the wormhole, and as soon as they did, Syd rushed over to Sky, wrapping her arms around him. "I knew you'd make it," she said. 

Sky nodded. "Of course I would," he turned to Z and Liz. "There isn't much time, so you have to decide what you want to do in a hurry. The same thing happened to you in the other reality, and Boom was able to come up with anti-dote, but neither of you survived long enough to take it," he reached in his pocket, pulling out two small flasks. "This should stabilize your DNA enough to let both of you to survive, but the other reality could really use your help. I'm hoping one of you will volunteer to go back there and help them in their battle with Gruum," he told them.

Each of them took a flask, drinking the contents.

"I'll go," Z said.

"No, I will," Liz said. "Maybe once this is over, I'll be able to come back."

"Maybe," she sighed, wrapping her arms around her.

"Goodbye… sister," she sighed.

Sky reached for a morpher, handing it to Liz. "Give this to Dr. Manx when you get there, tell her to study the schematics for SWAT mode and incorporate it into all the morphers there, that should give you the edge against the A-Squad," he said.

"Take this guy with you. I'm sure the authorities will want to confine him in his own dimension," Shadow Ranger said, hoisting up the unconscious green A-Squad ranger and throwing him through the wormhole. Liz nodded, then stepped through the wormhole, disappearing into the swirling vortex.

"Bridge, activate the device," Syd ordered.

Bridge switched on the device, standing directly in front of the wormhole. For the first few seconds, it was having no effect at all. Suddenly, the wormhole began to get smaller… and smaller, and then finally, it was gone.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm sure glad that's over," Sky sighed.

* * *

_**to be concluded...**_  



	8. New beginnings?

_**Disclaimer:** Powers Ranger Space Patrol Delta and all related logos are property of Disney Entertainment; I am using them without permission. Any original characters you see are mine, and I obviously have permission to use them. _

_**A/N:** This takes place only days after "Endings part 2"_

**

* * *

New Tech City, California 2025 AD

* * *

**

Z laid across the bed in her quarters, staring at the ceiling. They were able to find a way to stabilize her DNA so that she and her replicant could survive, but now, she found herself worse off then when it all started. Jack leaving SPD left a void in her life, a void that was willing when she had a sister there with her, but now, both of them were gone. Even worse, she would never truly know which one of them was the real Elizabeth Delgato, and which of them was only a replicant.

Having Liz around was refreshing, someone who completely understood her. Not what she was gone, she knew she'd go back to being a freak. She sat up, leaning up against the wall. Her eyes lit up slightly, and within seconds, there was a replicant.

"Hi," she said cheerfully, hoping it would respond, but the replicant simply sat there, unable to speak.

With a sigh, her eyes lit up again, and the replicant vanished. She was able to replicate herself as many times as she wanted, but Liz had been unique. She had her own thoughts, her own ideas and opinions, but every other replicant was simply a shadow of herself, unable to say anything, much less have an original thought.

"Hey Z," a voice said. She turned her head to see Bridge walk into the room. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just… I miss her, ya know?"

"Who? Liz? I don't know, it would be kinda weird to have two mes running around," he said.

"Its weird having one you running around," she giggled.

"No, I mean it. All of us were born different, with different abilities. People use to call me a freak because they didn't understand me or what I could do, but as I grew up I realized it didn't make me a freak, it made me unique. There wasn't anyone else like me anywhere, and it made me feel special. To have another me here would take away from that, almost like I was replaceable in my own life," he explained.

"But don't you ever feel lonely?"

"Sure, we all do, but we all have each other. We're all different in our own ways, and that's why we work so well together. We each bring something different to the group," he told her.

"I never really thought of it like that," she said.

"Besides, the other me would always eat my toast and wear my clothes. I'd write my name in my underwear and he'd just put'em on anyway. It would get annoying after a while," he brought up.

"Thanks Bridge," she kissed him on the cheek. "I feel much better now."

"Oh hey, I came in here because the Commander wants to see us in the command center," Bridge said.

* * *

Bridge and Z walked into the command center to see that Syd and Sky were already there, each of them standing in front of Commander Cruger.

"Rangers, Kat has run a scan of the anomaly and I am pleased to report that no one was hurt and the anomaly has completely dissipated. Now that we've gotten that one of the way, the question still remains as to who will receive the green morpher. As you know, Sky gave the green morpher to Liz Delgato as she entered the wormhole so that SPD could that technology to aid them against Gruum, but Kat has constructed another one," he pulled it out his pocket. "Officer Tate, I originally told you that it would be your responsibility to pick who would get the morpher, however, I feel as though a worthy candidate as already stepped forward," he said.

"Who did you have in mind sir?" Sky asked.

"Officer Drew, you questioned and even contradicted my orders to stand up for what you thought was right, and I admire that. Most officers hide behind the excuse of simply following orders, but you demonstrated that you are not only able, but willing to go against an order if you feel if incorrect. A good leader knows when to lead and when to follow, and also when to disobey an order for the greater good. Congratulations Syd, you are the new green ranger," the Commander said, handing Syd the morpher.

"Thank you sir," she said, admiring it.

"This leaves us with another dilemma, who will be the pink ranger now that Officer Drew has been promoted? I've given this a lot of thought, and I've found what I think it a good candidate for the morpher. However, we are a team, and the decision to induct this member must be an unanimous decision," he turned slightly as the doors to the command center opened, and _she_ walked in. "I'm sure all of you remember Dr. Rheas," he said.

Dr. Rheas was wearing an SPD uniform, but without any color to it at all. It was simply black and dark gray, indicating she had yet to receive a color was only a cadet. The others looked her at, reminded of the time when they too had standard issue uniforms.

"Hi guys," she said cheerfully.

"Dr. Rheas proved herself to be invaluable in helping us with the anomaly, and while her skills as a fighter need to be improved, she showed great promise. Again, this has to be an unanimous decision," the commander told them.

"She is a good fighter, and her technical experience will be a plus. I'm all for it," Bridge said eagerly.

"I think she has what it takes, lets give it a shot," Z added.

"I for one think it's a good idea to have another woman on the team. I say yes!" Syd said in a perky tone.

Sky was last, taking a moment to think about the situation. "If it weren't for Dr. Rheas, we wouldn't have had to deal with this anomaly in the first place, and there are more qualified members of SPD who would be moved up. I wasn't here to see any of it, but…" he paused, grabbing Syd's hand. "…I trust my team, and I trust you commander. I say we give her a chance, but only as a cadet. She should be made to take academy courses and required classes to become a full officer," he said.

"I agree completely," the commander walked over to Dr. Rheas, presenting her with a morpher. "Congratulations, you are the new pink ranger. This is the finest group of rangers I have ever worked with; learn from them, follow their guidance and benefit from their experience. Welcome to SPD Cadet Rheas," Commander Cruger said.

"Thank you, and please, call me Elaina," she said.

"Elaina is it. Meet Officer Tate on the obstacle course at 0800 hours tomorrow morning so training can begin. Officer Delgato, could you please arrange for Elaina to get her own quarters?" he asked.

"Yes sir," Z said, saluting him, then motioned for Elaina to follow her out the command center.

"Bridge, Boom is waiting for you in the science lab."

"Yes sir," Bridge said, walking out the room.

"Officers Tate and Drew, am I to understand that the two of you are… an item?" Commander Cruger asked.

They both paused, looking at one another slightly, then back at the commander.

"We're not sure yet, but we're working on it," Syd said.

"There are no protocols or regulations about officers dating one another, but I trust that this will not affect your ability to lead this team Officer Tate," he said.

"No sir, it won't," he answered.

"I hope not, your new commanding officer may not tolerate any unnecessary situations," he said.

"I understand sir, I think that…" he paused. "Wait, did you say _new_ commanding officer?" Sky asked.

"Yes. I was assigned to the Earth station in case of an impending invasion by Gruum. That threat is now gone, and I am being reassigned. As of tomorrow, I will be at the SPD facilities on KO-35. This will give me an opportunity to spend more time with Icinia," he said.

"Who will be assigned here?"

"I wasn't notified of my replacement, but Supreme Commander Birdie will be here tomorrow to make it official. I will surrender my morpher to him then. I expect that you will give your new commander the same respect that I have enjoyed from you."

"Count on it sir."

"It has been an honor serving with you," he said, nodding slightly.

"The honor was ours," Syd sighed.

Syd and Sky saluted him, knowing it would probably be the last time, then walked out the command center.

* * *

**end?**


End file.
